Santa Barbara

Sister cities

• Palma
• Manila
• Cusco
• Dingle/Daingean Uí Chúis
• Puerto Vallarta
• Toba
• San Juan
• Weihai
• Kotor

History

Evidence of human habitation of the area begins at least 13,000 years ago. Evidence for a Paleoindian presence includes a fluted Clovis-like point found in the 1980s along the western Santa Barbara County coast, as well as the remains of Arlington Springs Man, found on Santa Rosa Island in the 1960s. At least 25,000 Chumash natives lived in the region prior to Spanish contact. Five Chumash villages flourished in the area. The present-day area of Santa Barbara City College was the village of Mispu; the site of the Los Baños pool (along west beach) was the village of Syukhtun, chief Yanonalit's large village located between Bath and Chapala streets; Amolomol was at the mouth of Mission Creek; and Swetete, above the bird refuge. The explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, sailing for the Kingdom of Spain, sailed through what is now called the Santa Barbara Channel in 1542, anchoring briefly in the area. In 1602, Spanish maritime explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno gave the name "Santa Barbara" to the channel and also to one of the Channel Islands. A land expedition led by Gaspar de Portolà visited around 1769, and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespi, who accompanied the expedition, named a large native town "Laguna de la Concepción". Cabrillo's earlier name, however, is the one that has survived. The first permanent European residents were Spanish missionaries and soldiers under Felipe de Neve, who arrived in 1782 and constructed the Presidio. They were sent to both secure the Spanish claim to the region and to convert the indigenous peoples to Catholicism. Many of the Spaniards brought their families with them, and those formed the nucleus of the small town – at first just a cluster of adobes – that surrounded the Presidio of Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara Mission was established…

Geography

Santa Barbara is located about west-northwest of Los Angeles, along the Pacific coast. This stretch of coast along southern Santa Barbara County is sometimes referred to as "The American Riviera", presumably because its geography and climate are similar to those of areas along the northern Mediterranean Sea coast (especially in southern France) known as the Riviera. The Santa Ynez Mountains, an east–west trending range, rise dramatically behind the city, with several peaks exceeding . Covered with chaparral, oaks and sandstone outcrops, they make a scenic backdrop to the town. Sometimes, perhaps once every three years, snow falls on the mountains, but it rarely stays for more than a few hours. Nearer to town, directly east and adjacent to Mission Santa Barbara, is an east–west ridge known locally as "the Riviera", traversed by a road called "Alameda Padre Serra" (shortened APS, which translates to "Father Serra's pathway"). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which of it is land and of it, or 53.56%, is water. The high official figures for water are due to the extension of the city limit into the ocean, including a strip of city reaching out into the sea and inland again to keep the Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) within the city boundary.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  40,719
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  38,389
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  31,816
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  30,652
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  28,704
• Bladder kelp

  Macrocystis pyrifera (L.) C.Agardh · Phaeophyceae
  28,591
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  24,582
• Acorn Woodpecker

  Melanerpes formicivorus (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  24,331

Largest nearby schools

• Santa Barbara Senior High
  High · Santa Barbara · 2,107 students · 20.7:1 ratio
• Dos Pueblos Senior High
  High · Goleta · 2,034 students · 21.4:1 ratio
• San Marcos Senior High
  High · Santa Barbara · 2,020 students · 21.7:1 ratio
• La Colina Junior High
  Middle · Santa Barbara · 900 students · 22:1 ratio
• Peabody Charter
  Elementary · Santa Barbara · 767 students · 24:1 ratio
• Goleta Valley Junior High
  Middle · Goleta · 717 students · 18.4:1 ratio
• Santa Barbara Junior High
  Middle · Santa Barbara · 560 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• Washington Elementary
  Elementary · Santa Barbara · 524 students · 18.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.43 — 2026-06-06
  15 km NW of Fillmore, CA
• M 2.57 — 2026-05-25
  13 km SSE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
• M 2.74 — 2026-05-22
  20 km N of Pine Mountain Club, CA
• M 3.14 — 2026-05-03
  9 km WSW of Grapevine, CA
• M 2.53 — 2026-05-02
  1 km NE of Fillmore, CA
• M 2.57 — 2026-05-02
  1 km NNE of Fillmore, CA